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Campaign Finance Reform

Throughout her career Congresswoman Maloney has been a strong supporter of campaign finance reform. She believes those with money should not have greater influence over elections than the average American voter. That is why she is deeply concerned about the Supreme Court’s rulings in Citizens United and McCutcheon, which rolled back important reforms that reigned in the influence of money in politics. In Congress, she is committed to enacting new legislation to reform our campaigns and empower everyday Americans to participate in the political process.

Select Highlights:

Government By the People Act: Congresswoman Maloney is a cosponsor of the Government By the People Act, which would create a fund to match small-dollar contributions to reduce the impact of large donors and Super PACs. This bill provides enhanced matching funds in the final 60 days of a general election for candidates in high cost races, and offers small donors a $25 tax credit to encourage political participation. Thanks to Citizens United and other harmful, recent Supreme Court decisions, many of our country’s campaign finance reforms have been repealed. Congresswoman Maloney believes Congress should act to limit the impact of large campaign donors and help preserve the integrity of our elections.

Opposed to Citizens United Decision: In the famous 2010 Supreme Court case, Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court struck down limits to independent expenditures in federal elections. The decision to allow unlimited independent spending, particularly corporate spending, in campaigns led to the rise of Super PACs, committees that can raise and spend huge sums of money with limited disclosure requirements. Congresswoman Maloney is strongly opposed to this ruling and supports efforts to reverse it. That is why she has cosponsored a resolution in Congress that would amend the Constitution to overturn the Citizens United decision and limit corporate campaign expenditures. Congresswoman Maloney believes the American people have a right to participate in their own government without buying their way in. The Citizens United decision gives big-money special interests undue influence in federal elections over the average American voter.

DISCLOSE Act: In the famous Citizens United Supreme Court case, the court struck down the bank on corporate expenditures in federal elections, but upheld disclosure requirements for groups making independent expenditures in federal elections. To address this issue, Congresswoman Maloney cosponsored the DISCLOSE ACT, which would amend the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to provide for additional disclosure requirements for corporations, labor organizations, and other entities, and for other purposes. The American public deserves to know where these immense campaign contributions are coming from. The Congresswoman remains committed to the transparency of the electoral process despite the ruling in Citizens United, and will continue to work with her colleagues on constructive reforms to our campaign finance system.

McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002: Congresswoman Maloney supported the landmark Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, also known as the McCain-Feingold Act. This bill, signed into law on March 27, 2002, limited the influence of big-money interests in federal elections. The law reduced soft-money lending and massive independent expenditures on political campaigns. It also strengthened disclosure laws to make it easier to find out who is funding political campaigns. Unfortunately, many key provisions in the McCain-Feingold law were overturned by the Supreme Court in the 2010 Citizens United decision.